Suspicious tacks reported along new Seattle cycle track

The Westlake Avenue protected bike lane was built to make things safer, but bike riders who use the cycle track near Lake Union may be under attack.

The Seattle Times reports bike riders are worried that someone is intentionally scattering tacks along the cycle track.

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An employee of a Fremont bike shop told the Times that several people last week had flat tires caused by the same tacks found along the track. Other bike shops have similar reports.

KIRO 7 reports the tacks have been found on the stretch of Westlake from Valley Street all the way to where the road connects to the Ship Canal Trail before the Fremont and Aurora bridges.

The Seattle Department of Transportation has looked into the issue and asked police to follow up, the Times reports.

The new dedicated lanes took bikes off of Westlake Avenue and put them in their own designated space next to the pedestrian walkway on the east side of the parking lot that serves the businesses along Lake Union.

“You would have people walking, biking, and driving all throughout that whole parking lot area,” Seattle Transportation Director Scott Kubly told KIRO Radio’s Chris Sullivan. “What this does is really delineates where everybody is going to be so the street will be a lot more organized and safer for everybody.”

Businesses did lose some parking to make room for the bikes and expanded walkway.

The decision to build the cycle track wasn’t popular with everyone, but Kubly stressed that it has nothing to do with a “war on cars.”

If the tacks are being left intentionally, the person or people responsible could be targeting more than just Westlake cyclists.

A reddit user posted a photo of a tack found along the Burke-Gilman Trail recently. The tack, as one user points out, looks like a carpet tack — with a flat head and sharp point. Perfect for puncturing a tire.

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